Monday, October 21, 2013

Avoiding lupus triggers, especially the ones that are oh-so-tempting when you're stuck at home!

Per Friday's post, you know what activities I tried to focus on, so that I wasn't dwelling on the fact that my rise in symptom activity was keeping me home. While it was vital that I find things to do that were compelling enough to keep my mind occupied, it was equally as important that I NOT do things that would compromise my body. At all costs, I couldn't engage in activities that would exasperate my symptoms. So as much as I wanted to, here's what I didn't allow myself to do:

Clean: When my disease is active, ask me to vacuum a couple rooms of my house, or scrub a bathroom, and you'll see a few swollen digits within a couple of hours. That kind of physical output wreaks havoc on my body when I'm already in a vulnerable state. So during lock down - I just had to look past the crumbs, and settle for less than spotless. Johnny pitched in, of course, but I forced myself to be okay with a little mess.

Rearranging furniture, hanging pictures, mounting drapes, etc.: As you can imagine, we have PLENTY of things to hang and arrange in our new house. But because of my joint pain, I had to invoke a "no tools" policy to ensure that I didn't hammer my joints into oblivion. Hanging a picture here or fussing with some shelves there would have started a series of "must finish" projects that I just had to avoid. This isn't the first time this has happened, so I was prepared. (See my posts about my previous tool box trials and who had to step in to rescue me. Thanks, Kevin!)

Heavy duty organizing: When I start an organizing project, watch out! I usually prefer to remove everything from the space and start from scratch, and I tend to get a little obsessive about the whole thing about an hour in. So while I allowed myself to "sort" a few odds and ends, I pretty much stayed away from large space/project organizing. I even passed on sorting a ton of kids clothes the girls have outgrown. I'm sure there were some pieces that would have been great for Ebay or consignment, but in this case, I just had to choose where to put my energy. I opted to pass everything on to another family member sight unseen - saving valuable time, and my joints.

Now that I'm feeling better, I've been able to ease back into these, and many more activities. But I still have to be careful. In fact, sometimes, I do best when I avoid an undertaking altogether (like organizing), because I just won't be able to help myself. But once I'm 100% percent, you better believe I'm going to tackle my new closets!

BUY THE BOOK

Sara Gorman

In 2001, I was diagnosed with systemic lupus, at the age of 26. I had been married less than 6 weeks and was at a highpoint in my career in television production. While I fought to keep hold of the life I'd known - demanding, yet fulfilling career, busy social life, packed vacation schedule - after four years of running my body into the ground, I realized I was fighting life, not living it. Thus, I downshifted almost every aspect of my life. I let go of my career and made it my number one priority to get myself back in good health. I'm proud to say that I've reached my goal, but work each day to maintain that healthy lifestyle. despite lupus. My book details the steps it took to reach that goal. A native of Indiana and graduate of the University of Notre Dame, I reside in Alexandria, Virginia with my husband, two young daughters, and pug dog.